Some voters will use a new polling place next week

WASHINGTON — A decent chunk of the voters in Washington’s mayoral special election on April 30 will fill out their ballots in the same place they’ve gone for the last several years, a community room on the ground floor of the new YMCA building. Those voters live in the city’s first ward. Nearby, those in the second ward, who usually vote at a church closer to home, will also make the short trek to the Y to cast their ballots.

Others, scattered around town, have already submitted their votes through the mail, or plan to vote absentee, in-person at the Washington County Courthouse on a weekday between now and April 29.

But for election-day voters in Washington’s third and fourth wards, Tuesday will represent a break from years of routine, as they go to the polls at Dallmeyer Hall on the Washington County Fairgrounds, rather than at the Halcyon House retirement community, or United Presbyterian Home.

Washington County Auditor Dan Widmer said the new location could become Ward 4’s permanent polling place, if April 30 goes off without major problems. He said the lower level of Dallmeyer Hall, while further from most city residents’ homes, offered enough space for lines of voters, a large, paved parking lot that’s easy to clear for wintertime elections, and a less confusing layout than Halcyon House, which has numerous entrances and a maze of inner hallways.

“I think the fairgrounds, Dallmeyer Hall, is going to work out real well,” Widmer said. “We wanted to try it out, on a trial basis, to see if there are issues that we didn’t anticipate that we will need to correct if it becomes a permanent location … this is kind of an easy way to test it out.”

Widmer said Washington’s April 30 special election would present the ideal testing ground for the new polling place. Voter interest is high enough to stress-test any issues, but low enough to avoid catastrophe in case of trouble, with the voting population limited to city residents, rather than a broader swath of the county which gets a say in regular elections scheduled this June and November.

The transition, however, may take some getting used to. Many Washington residents have grown accustomed to voting at the retirement community on South Iowa Avenue, which has served as a polling place since 2008.

The fairgrounds are less walkable, lacking a paved sidewalk or marked pedestrian crossings over the highway to the property’s north and east. The venue is also considerably less convenient for residents of Halcyon House itself, who previously could vote without setting foot outside.

To help voters acclimate to the change, Widmer said signs would be posted on April 30 at out-of-use polling places, directing voters to the correct location. The county has also purchased ads on KCII and in The Southeast Iowa Union to help spread word about the move.

Widmer said his office continued to push for absentee voting among those inconvenienced by the new location.

If the change becomes permanent, he said the county would mail a notice to every household of registered voters in the affected ward. In future races, the county’s absentee voting committee tentatively plans to send a team into Halcyon House to provide absentee voting resources to residents, if it ends up sticking with Dallmeyer Hall.

At Halcyon House, Executive Director Vani Tschantz was less optimistic about the fairgrounds’ upsides, but said the retirement community was helping its residents get to ballot boxes one way or another.

“We are taking people to the polling place and the courthouse to vote as well as using absentee ballots to help our residents act on their right to vote,” she said in an email. “We are working with the courthouse to be a polling place in the future again.”

As for Tuesday’s election, the deadline has already passed to request mail-in ballots. Absentee voters can still submit their choice for mayor in-person at the Washington County Courthouse from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays until April 29, or as late as 5 p.m. on Friday, April 26.

Come April 30, however, Widmer cautioned that Dallmeyer Hall and the Y will be the only two places to get a ballot. Election day polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

“Absentee voting in-person ends on April 29, that’s the law,” he said. “I wish I could say, ‘Well here’s the reason,’ but I’d guess … it’s just one less thing to worry about.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com